Depressive disorders are prevalent and continue to grow in the United States and globally. People have attempted to define depression since the beginning of time but in the 17th and 18th centuries, studies for depressive disorders began to utilize the scientific method. The introduction of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1952 increased the quality of diagnosis, assessment, and treatment for people exhibiting depressive symptoms. The DSM-5 published in 2013 changed categories and classification for depression along with adding new classified depressive disorders. Research studies show that biological, cognitive, behavioral and interpersonal are factors causing depressive disorders. Therefore, …show more content…
These debates introduce scientific studies utilizing various psychological approaches in a quest to answer these views (Varga, 2013). Depression entered as a disorder by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, third Edition approximately thirty years ago and continues to evolve as major depressive disorder is refined to better assess the disorder appropriately, as seen today in the DSM-5 (Lichtenberg & Belmaker, 2010). According to (Uher, Payne, Pavlova, & Perlis, 2014), the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition seems to resemble the fourth edition, but several important changes have been made to assist the therapist and research studies in assessing major depressive disorders. First, the addition of these new classifications: “disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, persistent depressive disorder, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder” (Uher, et al., 2014, p. 460). Secondly, the DSM-5 eliminated the period of mourning after a loss category and the dismantling of the continuous depressive disorder classification (Uher, et al., 2014, p. 460). The overall alternations within the new edition of the DSM-5 allows the therapist to add and combine …show more content…
In addition, (Zhang, et al., 2011) major depressive disorder seen through “functional neuroimaging studies report widespread local abnormalities in many brain regions, such as the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus, orbitofrontal cortex, prefrontal cortex, caudate nucleus, and occipital regions” (p. 334). Other studies show that women have a tendency to experience higher levels of depression then men, mainly because of the contrast of how both sexes manage stressful events in their lives (Llaneza, Garcia-Portilla, Llaneza-Suarez, & Armott, 2011). Furthermore, women encounter greater episodes of depression in association with menstruation during which estrogen levels decline, following child delivery, and when their ovaries stop producing progesterone (Llaneza, et al., 2011). Women experience three stages of menopause, which are peri, menopause, and post; therefore, causing depression during these hormonal changes (Llaneza, et al., 2011). Studies show that low levels of androgen cause levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) to decline which may also account for depressive disorders (Llaneza, et al,